How the hell did I end up here?
by TheExplodingChipmunk
Summary: It all started when Mathew awoke in the middle of nowhere, with no idea how he even got there in the first place. Now he is on his merry way to cause mayhem and mischief in a world that isn t even his own.


Capter 1: How the hell did I end up here?!

* * *

"Talking"

 _"Thinking"_

 ** _"_ Talking with effect"**

"Written text/Flashback"

* * *

Pain.

That was the first thing Mathew felt as he awoke. A very bad stinging and at the same time throbbing headache that felt like a hangover mixed with a bad case of migraine. After a few moments he also realized it was uncomfortable hot and his bed felt very hard and earthy... " _wait..."_

Suddenly he jerked up into sitting position looking around frantically. His pale green eyes jumped around while he wiped his long brown hair, matted from sweat and dirt, out of his face.

After a few seconds he came to a conclusion. He was not in his Motel room anymore. Furthermore he was sitting in the middle of an dusty and dried out valley with no more company then a few dead plants and the occasional boulder. And he had no idea how the hell he ended up there.

" _Great, dumped somewhere in the middle of_ _nowhere. If that isn´t a mafia movie cliche then i don't know what else."_

Scratching his head he stood up while flinching because of his normally pale now red, sunburned skin and the headache which was still very uncomfortable, even if not as bad as before. While brushing dirt off his clothes, a black leather mantle, metal themed t-shirt, well worn jeans and sturdy army boots, he also made a nice discovery. His bag was laying right next to him. Hurrying over and opening it he let out a relived breath. All his stuff and valuables were still there. Mainly a change of clothes, toiletries, his laptop with an hard drive filled to the brim with everything modern pop culture had to give, his GPS-device and the finds of his last exploration tour.

" _Oh thank the god emperor! My anime, my cartoons and my Memes! I still have them,_ _cough... So, at least they didn´t mug me. But how the heck did i get here in the first place. Hm, what is the last thing i remember?"_

Flashback

Mathew had a good day. He was on a trip outside of San Francisco over the weekend. He always liked to get out off the city every once in a while and go hiking through the wildness. It may be nice in the city and living alone in an apartment for himself was all not bad, you could say what you want about his uncle who was his legal guardian but he never made Mathews live hard, but sometimes it got suffocating there.

Right now he was wandering around in some old and long left ruins he found while hiking. Oh how he loved old forgotten places. He always thought that these decaying traces of civilization had a special charm to them.

But in the moment he walked trough the door of an half carved in stone house, he heard an loud cracking sound and a few moments later he was sent on his way down by the rotting wood that once made up the floor. His way downwards was then abruptly stopped by the sudden arrival of the floor. Rubbing his hurting rear end and cursing about deathtraps and underhanded floorboards, he fell right down again as he tripped over something on the ground.

Now even more aggravated, standing up again to kick the offending object, he stopped. He was looking on a small chest that betrayed its weight (wich could be verified by the person who tripped over it) But the pellicular thing was not the box but what was inside. It was filled with coins, Gold coins, and some jewelry. After he got over the shock he pickied up a especially interesting pice. A small silver necklace with an green crystal. That was glowing. That was something he wanted to keep Mathew decided.

"Hm, that definitely is worth something" he said to himself while heaving his backpack which now held the chest, over his shoulder.

After Mathew got out of his predicament and back to the motel he stayed in, from his hiking trip turned raid of and archeological sight, hey what the state does not know won´t hurt him, he fell right into his bed to sleep without getting out of his clothes or anything. Dragging multiple pounds of gold around for a few ours is very draining. Seconds later he was already asleep.

Flashback

"Nope no idea how i got into this situation. But if someone is going to jump at me yelling that i just got Punk´d i am going to hit him, hard." Mathew mumbled to himself while picking up his backpack and pulling out his phone. A nice little smartphone he really liked. Checking it, it got very fast very clear that there was no reception.

"Well, good that I always have my GPS with me"

Pulling out the yellow black device with an very sturdy case made from rubber and plastic and switching it on, he checked his coordinates.

"That can´t be right, 10 miles outside of San Francisco? That is nearly a hundred miles south from my last position. But good for me ist only a few ours to walk back. And if i find a highway I could try to hitchhike the rest of the way."

Turning in the right direction Mathew started his walk trough the wasteland surrounding him.

* * *

Mathew let out a relived breath. He had reached a first sing of civilization.

"Finally! A highway!"

Walking along the highway was relaxing. For the last few ours Mathew had to hike through terrain with no streets and many hills and it had drained him pretty much.

But his relatively good mood dissipated with the 20th car speeding past him. There were not many cars on the street right now and none seemed to have any pity with Mathew walking alongside it.

Another hour later he lost his patience and cursed after the next car wich speed by while wildly shaking his fist. He then relinquished in turning his gaze and ire onto the GPS device in his hand wich still showed that it was one mile until he reached the outskirts of the City...

Until it suddenly emitted a rain of sparks and smoke and then combusted so Mathew had to drop it. Picking it up again after he put the flame out and looking at it he only saw the now burned case and cracked display. Throwing it away in an wide arc with an string of curses following it that would probably have some gang members blushing, he started to walk faster.

He wanted to get back to civilization and take a very long shower.

While walking and getting his temper back in check he was so deep in though that he took a moment to realize that San Francisco could finally be seen at the horizon. But something was not right. Since he got to the highway he had this nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Mathew couldn´t say what it was only that there was something he should have noticed.

* * *

It was some time later that he was finally nearing the outskirts of San Francisco. Finally he could take a bus to his apartment and get his shower.

But the closer he came the worse got this nagging feeling that now was more like things crawling in his stomach. Something was very wrong but he was not able to pin it down. What was it? Did he forgot something? Or was it something else?

Pushing a hand trough his hair while groaning he saw that he was walking up the obligatory welcome sign that every city seemed to have. He looked up and read it. Then he ad to blink and read it again. Still tinkling he wasn´t seeing right, he rubbed his eyes and read it again only to get the same result.

 **Welcome to Jump City**

And then it hit him like a fright train.

Now he realized why he had this feeling that something was wrong. Because everything was wrong.

The cars looked different, more angular, and were from brands he never had seen before.

The City was also not right. Now he could see it clearly. It was to light colored, light grey and white tones accented by the blue windows of big glass fronts dominated the color range of the city. There was not a single one of the skyscrapers he had lived between. The complete skyline was different.

And most obvious was now that the great bridge that spanned the bay was grey and not red.

"Tha... That´s... THAT`S NOT POSSIBLE!"

Was all Mathew got out before he hyperventilated and fainted.

* * *

After regaining consciousness and his bearings, he stayed laying on the ground with his eyes closed denying the situation, Mathew decided that it would get him to nothing and stood up to start walking into the City.

It was a very surreal experience for him. Jump City actually was not to different from any big city in the united states. It may have been much cleaner than any city he had ever seen but it otherwise it was just that, a big city. But what made the experience surreal for him was the feeling of wrongness he still had. On the surface yes it was very familiar. But the small details were different. The architecture of the buildings that sometimes looked a little bit too futuristic. The different design of the streetlights, signs, postboxes and other public items. The Brands and products he could see in the store windows. Those kind of things. The feeling could be best described as in being in an city of a different country. But with an surreal component to it because of the fact that this city was fictional and you should not be able to walk through it.

At some point on his way through the city he came up to an eerily familiar pizza restaurant on the fork of one of the bigger streets of Jump City. People stat inside of it eating and talking, it was generally well visited. He simply stood there and looked at the Pizza Corner one of Jump City´s most visited restaurant`s. Only at that point Mathew really started to realize the unbelievable situation he was in.

 _"I am really in Jump City. In the Dc Universe. At least as long as this isn´t some_ _hallucination. But it is much to elaborate. But how did this happen? I mean you usually don't wake up in some fictional world."_

Continuing his walk and mushing and passing through the many people who were running their errands in the shops at the street he came at some point up to the bay the city was located at. Looking over the water he could see the small islands inside the bay and another thing missing. There was Alcatraz island but no prison on it. But that was to expect because Jump city had no island prison. No, what was really missing was the T-shaped tower that should be there instead of the prison.

 _"So the Teen Titans aren´t founded yet. The plot of the show hasn´t even started yet."_

Walking up to a bench and sitting down Mathew started to go through his ideas what he should do next while getting some rest.

" _I am in a city i don't know much about, I am basically_ _homeless and have only the things that are on my body. Ok the situation isn´t so bad, one of those things is a chest of gold. So money is not a problem. And my ID card is still a real american one, even if San Francisco dosen´t exist here most of the time it should still work as long as none makes a complete background check."_

While thinking he fumbled with the crystal necklace he still had around his neck. As he looked at it he saw that it had lost the slight glow and had cracked.

" _Hm, thats so not_ _suspicious"_ He thought with enough sarcasm to make Dr. House proud. " _But that can wait. I should try to cash in my findings before the shops close and i have to stay on the street because i can't even afford a cheap hotel room."_

Rising from the bench and fastening his backpack back onto his back, he started his journey to the pawnshop´s of Jump City.

* * *

Hours and a countless amount of pawnshop´s, antique store´s and jewelry store´s later he had only a little bit of the coins left inside of his bag. It may have been time consuming but he didn´t want to take a chance. A teenager selling a big amount of gold coins and jewelry would probably be very suspicious. That was also the reason why he changed into the clean clothes he still had with him and cleaned himself inside of an public bathroom. Would be even worse if a teenager who was dirty and looked like a homeless tried to sell something valuable. The now free space inside his backpack was now taken up by a copious amount of money. And right now he was making his way to the last pawnshop to cash in what was left.

Pushing the glass door open he entered the store while a chime over the door rang. The store was very crammed. It had this smell of ancient paper and aged wood wich reminded Mathew of an very old attic. The wooden shelves thad covered nearly every centimeter of the store were stuffed with all kinds of things from pocket watches over jewelry to books and more. In the back of the store was an beautifully carved counter with an old and worn manual cash register on top. Walking up to it a old leather-bound book on an bookstand in one of the corners of the shop caught his gaze.

Just in that moment a rustle came from the doorway behind the counter and a elderly man carrying a particular crane with a big red crystal on top came into view and walked up behind the counter. Looking up to him, Mathew was a bid larger than the man, he asked in an british accent.

"What can i do for you lad?"

"Well, i would like to sell some of these coins." Mathew said while pulling out the coins. They were inside an cardboard box and wrapped in some newspaper he fund inside an dumpster. " _Always think of the small details. No one would just carry gold coins inside of their_ _pockets. Thats suspicious"_

The shopkeeper opened the box and unwrapped the coins. Pulling out a small magnifying glass he looked at the coins.

"These are some nice pieces you got there. Where did you get them?"

"They belonged to my father. But now I need the money. I am not really happy that i have to sell them but you can't eat gold." He said letting his vice sound sad. Inwardly he patted himself on his shoulder for his talent as an actor. " _Well done Mathew. That was Oscar worthy! Implying that your father died and making him pity for you."_

The shopkeeper got an understanding look. "Sorry to hear that. What do you say, you let me check those and then I can give you a price?"

"Yes, please do that"

"Ok, I am right back. Look around if you want. It will need only a few minutes." The man said and disappeared again into the back of his shop.

Now that Mathew was alone again his gaze returned back to the book in the corner of the store that captured his attention a few minutes ago.

He walked up to the bookstand and examined the ancient looking book on it. No not just book, more like a tome. It was old. That was obvious. Bound in thick worn brown leather that seems to crack at some places. It also was covered in an thick layer of dust indicating that no one had touched it in al long time.

Blowing the dust away the title of the book became visible written in thick slightly faded golden letters. " _Is that latin? This book has to bee old, like really old."_ Recalling the scraps of latin he still remembered from his classes Mathew tried to translate the title.

 _"Craft of... no its Arts. "Arts of the Arcane" interesting title. Could this... ? "_ Mathew liftet his hand in an attempt to open the book. The moment he touched it the letters of the title glowed slightly and the book opened itself. Pulling his hand back a bit startled he eyed the book warily. Then as nothing more happened he approached it again and looked at the first page. The text was written in gothic letters. The paper, or was it parchment?, looked slightly yellow around the edges and here and there was small tear or little hole showing its past use and the age of the sites.

" _Hm, its all in latin. And I am not good enough to read it but if i am not wrong that sentence says something about an "introduction in the mystic arts of sorcery". If i were not in this situation i would call bullshit, but magic is an actual thing here. So this is probably the real deal."_

He was suddenly pulled out of his toughest when the shopkeeper came back.

"I am finished. And I think that I can make you a fair price."

Turning to the man Mathe smiled and walked back to the counter. "Thank´s for your effort. So how much are you willing to give me for the coins?

"Well there are a few they are quiet rare and would be even without the high gold price quiet valuable. I can give you fifty fife hundred for all of them."

"That doesn´t sound bad. I am ok with that." He said taking the hand of the shopkeeper and shaking it. The man opened the cash register and pulled out some bills. Passing them over Mathew pocketed the bills. "But i have one more question, that book there, are you selling it?"

The old man looked over into the corner were the now again closed book lay. "Ya mean that old thing? Its lying there for years and not a single person ever wanted it. I wasn´t even able to open it." He said furrowing his brows probably in annoyance over the non-seller.

"You couldn´t open it? _"_ This fact made Mathew even more curious about the old book.

"Yes. Little bugger didn´t even budge. You know what, take it. I don´t think anyone will ever buy it and here it is only catching dust."

"Are you sure?" He asked not really believing that the man would simply give something like that away.

"Yes I am. Now take it before i change my opinion." He said with a slight smile.

Mathew walked over to the stand and took the book. Holding it in his arms he made his way to the door. He turned around one last time and gave the man a smile. "Thanke you and have nice evening." With that he walked through the door letting the chime ring again.

* * *

Mathew was again walking the streets of Jump City searching for a hotel he could stay in. It was dark outside and the streetlights were throwing long shadows through the night. In the distance a police car could be heard.

After some time he finally found a hotel. Walking up to the reception he got himself one of the cheaper rooms after a short smalltalk with the women at the reception.

When he opened the door to his room he let out an tired sigh. After dropping his bag onto the bed the first thing he did was hitting the shower. After a long and hot rinsing he started to set up his stuff. He finally had electricity so he could power up his laptop. Going through his library of shows he settled with a shonen mecha anime. Then he sat down onto his bed with the his newly acquired book in front of him and his smartphone with a translator app opened next to it. He also got some paper and a pen from the nightstand next to his bed to make notes.

Opening the book he started to translate. He used the smartphone to translate words he didn´t knew and wrote the translation down onto the paper.

When he got to the end of the first chapter after a good amount of time he stopped. Then he read it again.

" _So this really is a tome about magic. It says that only one who can use magic will be able to read this book. So that is probably the reason why the guy in the store couldn`t open it. Wow. That means that i can use magic."_ That left Mathew dumbstruck. He knew that in the Dc universe you had to have the predisposition to be able to use magic without the help of a powerful artifact. But he wouldn´t have thought that he was one of them. It seemed so unlikely. " _But even if i had such a predisposition in my world, there was no magic in the first place, as far as i knew, so I would never have been able to use it. But in the end it doesn´t really matters. If i can do it then i should learn it. It´s a superpower in this world and to have it is really cool."_

That was another fact that hit him only now. He was in a world that had super heroes. Actual super heroes. It was still really unbelievable and he felt like he would wake up any moment.

" _So what does it say about using it, "the first step is finding you magic and bringing it to the surface". Hm, so the most usual way for that seems to be meditating. That´s something i could try."_

The decision to try it was made and Mathew changed his position into sitting cross legged in indian style. Some time nothing happened but then he felt something. he couldn´t really describe it. It felt like a trickle of warmness. After he found it he startet to, for the lack of a better word, pull on the small trickle. Slowly it increased until suddenly it felt like a dam inside of him and power flooded his body. Like hot chocolate mixed with pure caffein flowing through his veins but not quiet. He opened his eyes and wanted to try to do something with it. He started concentrating on bringing the feeling to his hand. Slowly a bluish white aura formed around his hand that looked like a fog made from light. Mathew was euphoric. He never felt so good and the fast success made his mood even better.

And then the lamp on the bedside table suddenly combusted.

With an startled scream Mathew pushed the feeling down shutting the glow around his hand off. He then continued to bash out the fire with his pillow. After that he came pretty fast to an conclusion.

"Ok, Magic, it glows and blows up technic. Right, i think i should first learn some control before I play around with it again. At least now i know what happened to my poor GPS-Device."

With that he sat down again and proceeded with other things. He still hadn´t counted the money he acquired today. Pulling out the old chest which was now filled with bills instead of gold coins he emptied it onto the bed. Five minutes later Mathew was again sitting dumbstruck on the bed. He knew that he had gotten some money through selling the gold but would have never thought that it was THAT much.

"Three hundred fifty thousand." He whispered while staring at the pile of bank notes in front of him. Already plans were forming in his head.

" _That is more than enough to by a house or a store. So what should i do. I would like to learn as much about magic as I can. But where could I get help? I can hardly walk up to the tower of fate and ask Dr. Fate if he could help me. Even if i know where to find it. Wait a minute... How does Raven learns new magic again? Right she uses books. So i could do it to. I am a fast learner and I also like books. That is the solution."_

Mathew thought to himself while absentmindedly staring at the screen of his computer on which right now a full-blown mechafight was taking place.

" _But where could i get the books? The one that I found was dumb luck or bad writing, hehe._ _So how to get tose. Well i can´t run around asking for books about magic. People are going to think i am insane or get suspicious except i had a_ _reason to search for old books... That is the idea! A reason. What better reason is there than to make money! If I would happen to have a bookstore wich mainly deals with antique books they would come to me and i would´t even have to search for them. I even have the money to go through with this plan."_

Jumping up from his bed striking an epic pose he looked into empty space as if there was some sort of audience watching, but as far as he knew it was not to improbable that there was actually someone watching because he was, in fact, in the world of an cartoon, and said with the most awesome voice he could muster.

"I am going to open, a Book Store!"

Then he got a blush and looked embarrassed around, thanking every entity out there that cared that he was alone.

* * *

 **Well, hello to the ending of the first chapter of this Fan Fiction!^^**

 **First i want to** **thank you, yes you there in front of the screen, don't try to hide i can see you, that you read this little piece of text.**

 **The next thing I wanted to get rid of is that i am sorry if there are any grave grammar or spell mistakes. I am not a native english speaker and have still much to learn about the english language. But who finds mistakes can keep them. Or inform me about them an I will try to rectify them. :D**

 **This story is actually the second try, because i was really unhappy how the first two chapters of the first approach to write this story turned out. (its also more then double the length of the first chapter xD)**

 **I think that was all what i wanted to say, so if you have any comments, questions or critic, Reviews are always welcomed.**

 **Until next time,**

 **PFMF.**


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